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Pa. high court halts plan to close health centers

By MARC LEVY Associated Press

Updated:
07/18/2013 03:38:57 PM EDT

HARRISBURG, Pa.—The state Supreme Court has ordered a halt to a plan by Gov. Tom Corbett's administration to close nearly half of Pennsylvania's 60 community health centers until the justices can hear a lawsuit challenging it.

The high court's order, issued Wednesday, reversed a lower court decision on the request for an injunction and asked for a speedy hearing of the case.

A state employees' union, Department of Health nurses and several Democratic state lawmakers sued on April 1, saying the plan violates a 1996 law that requires legislative approval before closing any centers.

Department of Health officials insist they can do a better job treating public health problems by making community health nurses more mobile. However, agency employees warn that that the detection and prevention of outbreaks of communicable diseases would be slower, particularly in rural areas.

The plan would keep 34 health centers and eliminate the positions of 26 nurses. A Health Department spokeswoman had no immediate comment Thursday.

The union, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, has pointed out that Pennsylvania already has fewer public health workers per capita than most other states.

In 1996, then-Gov. Tom Ridge proposed having private companies take over the health centers—some dating to the early 1900s—and the state public health laboratory as a way to save money.

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An administration spokesman at the time said the current system was a relic from the days when medical professionals made house calls because sick people were quarantined at home.

Lawmakers rejected the idea amid worries over whether contractors would be aggressive in following up on public health problems and how the poor, elderly or migrant workers would reach the dramatically consolidated services. The Legislature then passed a law that prevented the full-scale plan, but allowed a one-year privatization pilot.

Since then, governors have allowed the size of the nursing staff at the health centers to dwindle.

The 60 health centers cost about $20 million to run. The closures would save $3.4 million, according to the health department.

SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania said the department has thus far closed health centers in Carbon, Beaver, and Mifflin counties and laid off nine nurses and eliminated nine other nurses' jobs. The ruling requires the state to reopen those health centers and reinstate the eliminated nurse positions while the case is pending, the union said.

Also slated to close under the plan are health centers in Adams, Armstrong, Blair, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Forest, Fulton, Greene, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Perry, Pike, Potter, Snyder, Somerset Susquehanna, Union, Wyoming counties, as well as health centers in Monessen in Westmoreland County and Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County, according to the union.